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Friday, September 30, 2011

It's that time of year again and I am here at the State Fair of Texas! I know many of you have seen my coverage from previous years, so join me on my adventure again for the next 25 days. This photo came from our new radio controlled race tent in the truck zone of the State Fair. I have a feeling this is going to be a huge hit, so I wanted to give it a try before the crowds took over. Well, I stink (My car is on the far right in the ditch, not on the track.), but that's not what makes this photo so much fun. Sometimes, the best things in a photo are in the background and this photo makes me giggle. You can see that Toyota Live's producer, Kenny, is really shy and doesn't have a sense of humor.

I will dish out more photos from the State Fair of Texas over the next month. Today, the crowds descend upon us and Toyota Live begins its first show at 12:15PM. Come on down and join us, y'all!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Seriously, I don't think there could have been a better hotel room view for me.

I've moved on to location number two and while I am not home, I am happy to be parked in one place for a month. I just finished a 30-day run that involved 8 different planes. Now, if you have followed my blog the last few years, you know exactly where I am right now. I'll let you guess in the comments section below. If you don't want to guess, that's okay because I am about to bombard you with images from my location. Otherwise, here are some final images of my short, but always sweet, time in NY. (I'll be back to NY in 5 weeks, so don't feel sorry for me.)

It was awesome to walk out of my hotel and see the ad on a phone booth. If you missed the Godspell rehearsal photos, click here.

If you have not visited Chelsea Market, make sure to add this to your list for your next visit. The interior architecture is worth a quick tour through.

The Met Opera broadcast their opening night in Times Square. Here's a scene from Anna Bolena.

So many people gathered to watch, it was inspiring to see the crowd out in full force for some real culture.

I know I've been rather secretive about what I was shooting in NY. I signed an NDA across all social media platforms until the infomerical is launched. However, you can see my official FB page to see who I worked with. We shot in the old Maury studios. I figured the studios were haunted with DNA tests and lost baby daddies.

Last shot of me in NY just after I left the set. It was a very satisfying trip. I'm sad to leave, but happy to be returning soon....

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

I started the day with this view. I knew it was going to be a GREAT day.

I walked the streets a little longer last night even though I should have been in my hotel room resting for my shoot today, but I wanted a little more time to reflect on the city I consider home. It's no secret that I love NY, but it's been such a great journey for me: seeing where I started in NY and where I am in NY now. It reminds me of one of my favorite songs from Sondheim's show, Merrily We Roll Along called "Our Time". This section of the lyric still sticks with me:

"Years from now,
We'll remember and we'll come back,
Buy the rooftop and hang a plaque:
This is where we began,
Being what we can."

These lyrics resonated with me all day as I had the wonderful opportunity to rehearse for a great project that I am shooting today, watch two longtime friends make their dreams come true with the Broadway show, Godspell, and then meet with the entertainment editor of iVillage.(I have been fortunate to do a few press junkets with them and I look forward to more!)

Now for my fellow musical theatre geeks, here are a few photos from today's incredible invited press rehearsal for Godspell. If you would like to see some of the video footage, head to Broadway World (A prize to the first person who spots me in the video. Tell me where I am sitting in the comments below.)and be sure to read Producer Ken Davenport's blog on today's event.

Director, Daniel Goldstein, and Choreographer, Christopher Gattelli.

The cast!

Hunter Parrish being interviewed by NBC.

Ana Maria Perez de Tagle from Hannah Montana is in the cast too. I last interviewed her here during the Kids' Choice Awards week.

Friday, September 23, 2011

I fly all of the time for work, so I am accustomed to being "up in the air". In fact, I've flown on United Airlines 22 times this year. That doesn't include the additional flights I've taken with American, Southwest, Delta, Continental, Spirit, and US Air this year. So, as familiar as I am with the friendly skies, I was thrilled to try out a new form of transportation for a trip around LA, on The Spirit of America, the Goodyear Blimp. We had the opportunity to fly in the airship as a part of our Behind the Scenes series with Mingle Media TV. Captain Matt piloted us through the cloudy skies and I might have been a bit smitten with our "Captain Handsome". (Yep, he had a nickname within the first 15 minutes of meeting him.)

The flight was pretty incredible despite a bit of marine layer and the blimp engines were a bit nosier than I expected. Captain Matt even had a little fun with a us with a blimp trick or two that I managed to catch on video. I will post our behind the scenes video early next week. In the meantime, enjoy the photos up in the air and on the ground. It truly was an opportunity of a lifetime.......

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

I told you I was going to be working backwards this week on this blog. So, last Sunday was my Emmys event in LA, but on Saturday, I was in NYC for the final Women's Health Magazine Are You Game? event of 2011. It is always one of my favorite events that I host all year with a day filled with fitness, fashion, food, and freebies. Everyone always has such a fun day and this year in NY, I had the opportunity to hit the stage with DJ Chela who spun some amazing tunes at the South Street Seaport. The area was packed with fitness enthusiasts and tourists who stumbled upon the event and got a bonus....a glimpse at Louis Van Amstel of DWTS teaching his LaBlast dance class. If you are in NY or Chicago, be sure to look for the event next summer and show off your strong, sexy body.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

These are always some of my most popular articles on my site, the "who are you wearing" posts. Well, here are all of the details for my outfit from the Emmy Awards 100 Stars Night Out Viewing Party:

Dress: Gifted by Deborah Viereck. You have seen me wear a lot of her dresses here and here. They are so comfortable to wear and I have one striped dress that I wear over and over again. Another good thing to know is that the clothes are created right here in LA.

Carolina and Roni helped coordinate my look for the Oscars last February, so you know I trust them implicitly with all of my red carpet looks. I told Carolina I am moving her into my house because I want to look like this every day. (See photo below.)

Monday, September 19, 2011

I will probably have to work backwards this week because it was such a busy week. I went from San Francisco on Thursday to NYC on Friday and then back to LA on Saturday in time for Emmys events on Sunday. 3 Jobs, 3 Cities, 4 Airports, and crisscrossing the country twice in less than 24 hours. So, let's kick off the week with my Sunday event. The Emmy Awards 100 Stars Night Out viewing party at Universal was an......er, interesting one.

Judy Tenuta had me in stitches.

There were over a 100 people walking the red carpet. I don't know if they are all stars, but we did talk to Kristy Swanson, Judy Tenuta, and Richard Herd (Seinfeld). I interviewed Kristy during a hilarious Black Swan purse unveiling during Oscars week, so it was nice to reminisce with her about the absurdity of that event. The other highlight of the evening was Judy Tenuta. Judy is a favorite of one of my blog pals, Indiana Adams over at Adored Austin, so I was thrilled to interview her. She's completely irreverent and one of the jokes was so funny and inappropriate that, wow, it probably won't see the light of day. I sure did giggle though, so if you see me in person, ask me what the joke was all about. Judy also asked about my Godspell iPhone case, so as any good investor would do, I plugged the show. Finally, the one thing that irked me on the red carpet was the fact that most actors did not know who was nominated. Okay, kids, PR 101 says that you will probably get asked about the awards by the reporters. Have one person or show in mind and you are covered. Otherwise, you get running commentary from me like this......check out the video, it's short and it's snarky just the way I like it.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

It's that time again for Women's Health Magazine'sAre You Game? This time, it's your turn, NYC! I hope you come and join me this Saturday, September 17th at our new location at South Street Seaport from 10AM-4:30PM. I promise you a day of "fitness, food, makeovers, style, pampering, free stuff, live music, and much more." If you think that isn't enough, check out the list (See Below) of activities and events for the day or if you want to sweat it out with Louis Van Amstel of Dancing With The Stars, click here for the schedule. You can register on site for the classes. I will be emceeing all day by the DJ booth, so come and say "hi" in between your workouts.

1. Luggage: Take your big suitcase and put it back in the closet. If you are going to Europe, chances are you will be taking a lot of public transportation. It is easier to drag around a medium to small-sized suitcase versus your big, oversized American suitcase. If you wind up buying lots of gifts and go overboard on the shopping, then you can buy an extra bag for the trip home. I wish I had my medium suitcase after lugging my big suitcase through the umpteenth train turnstile. I always like a gym workout, but not with my suitcase as my dead weight.

Yes, there will be a shoe post coming soon. I bought 3 pairs in Paris and these are the beautiful Repetto shoes I coveted.

2. Shoes: Unless you are going on a 5-star vacation, leave your Carrie Bradshaw heels at home. Pack your flats and your sneakers and get ready to hike around the city. Don't decide to break in your new shoes on the trip, you will regret it later. In fact, my flats didn't even make it home from Paris. They were so worn out by the end of the trip that I threw them out. I left my flip flops in China in 2005 and my sneakers in Costa Rica in 2009, it's a good way to make room in your suitcase for the trip home.

3. Sleep: My trip essentials always include my sleep mask, a travel blanket, and ear plugs for a restful sleep. I travel way too much and I find it is easier to make it dark, quiet, and cozy with these three items. I don't need to go into the germ factor about hotel blankets, so bring your own. It's small and easy to use at the hotel and on the plane. The best eye masks and blankets are made by Nap and are available at any Brookstone store. (According to a Sherman Oaks Brookstone employee, they are discontinuing this line. Be sure to stock up while you can!) My earplugs were purchased in a value pack from CVS. If I lose a set, there is always a back up available. Some hotels have thin walls, so you will appreciate a little soundproofing from time to time.

Those are my top 3 travel tips from my recent jaunt to Paris. I did really well with Tips #2 and #3, but failed miserably with Tip #1. Do you have any good travel tips to add? Share them with me in the comments below:

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

I know I shared one photo with you from the Camry Live launch at Paramount Studios when Chevy Chase crashed the set, but I am going to post the entire series now. One of the attendees from the event, Eric, sent me a whole series of photos last night. His dad is an automotive journalist and he got to come along for the ride for our big Camry event. Nice dad, right? The photos are too hilarious not to throw out there. It shows you how spontaneous the visit was and how shocked we looked at certain points. I'm off to Northern California for another Live Connect shoot this week and while I am looking forward it, I doubt it will have the glitz and the glam of the Paramount shoot. Like they say, "Only in Hollywood, kids, only in Hollywood." A big thanks to Eric for the photos!